The others nodded in agreement.
“We could take Lord Sterren’s approach,” Lady Kalira suggested, “and say that he’s gone, but he’ll be back.”
“Do we want to go on as we have?” asked Lady Arris of Ksinallion. “We could put everything back the way it was, couldn’t we?”
“Could we?” Algarven said. “What would we do with this palace?”
Everyone began talking, and Sterren lost track of who was saying what.
“Why should we go back to stupid little border wars?”
“Why break up the strongest nation in the Small Kingdoms?”
“What if the peasants don’t want to switch back?”
“What about all the roads he built?”
“We could be beheaded for treason!”
“How would we divide up the imperial treasury?”
It was Lady Kalira who settled the matter by asking, “Do you really want someone like King Phenvel back on the throne?”
That settled it; the Empire of Vond would continue.
“What about a new emperor?” Prince Ferral asked.
“Who?” Algarven asked in reply.
“If we pick one of the deposed kings, we’ll have rebellions in the other provinces,” Lady Kalira pointed out.
“What about Lord Sterren?” Lady Arris asked. Sterren thought he sensed a current of approval and he blocked it quickly. He had thought this all through once before, when Vond had appointed him to handle the details of government.
“No,” he said, “I’m not interested. I didn’t want to be warlord of Semma, I didn’t want to be Vond’s chancellor, and I certainly don’t want to be your emperor!” Lady Kalira started to speak, and Sterren cut her off. “You don’t need an emperor,” he said. “The Hegemony hasn’t got an emperor. Sardiron hasn’t got an emperor. They get along just fine.”
“What do they have?” Prince Ferral asked. “The Hegemony has a triumvirate, three overlords who form a sort of council. And Sardiron has a council of barons. We have a council here; we don’t need an emperor.”
“You’re suggesting, then, that the Imperial Council be the highest authority?” Algarven asked.
Sterren nodded. “Exactly,” he said.
“And what of our chancellor?” Lady Kalira asked. “What will you do?”
“Retire, if you’ll let me,” Sterren said. “I’d like to settle down quietly, find some sort of honest work — though I certainly wouldn’t mind if you want to vote me a pension, or maybe even an appointment of some sort.”
Lady Kalira rose and glanced at the other councillors. “I think,” she said, “that we need to discuss this by ourselves.”
Sterren bowed. “As you wish, my lady,” he said. “If you need me, I expect to be at Semma Castle.” She bowed in return, and Sterren left the room. As he strolled down the hill on one of Vond’s fine paved roads, he whistled quietly to himself.
It was over. He had discharged his responsibilities. He had cleaned up the mess he had created. He had won Semma’s war, but in the process of winning it he had unleashed Vond and destroyed Semma. Now he had removed Vond, but had kept his good works, his empire, intact. He could not be warlord of Semma, since Semma was gone, and now he was no longer chancellor of Vond.
He was free, he could go home to Ethshar if he wanted, or he could stay where he was. He was crossing the market before the castle gate when a soldier spotted him and waved. He waved back.
“Lord Sterren,” the man called in Semmat. “What about a game of three-bone?” Sterren looked over, thinking of the feel of the dice in his fingers. At that thought, somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought he heard a faint silent buzz, or perhaps even a whisper.
He shuddered.
“No, thanks,” he called. He turned his gaze away, up toward the castle.
He saw Princess Shirrin standing on the battlements, watching him approach. He waved. She smiled, and waved back. Startled, he stumbled and almost fell, then caught himself and walked on.
She must finally have forgiven him for allowing her father to be deposed, he realized. She could not possibly know yet that Vond was gone.
He could explain it all to her now, explain how he had known Vond was doomed and that to resist him would only lead to disaster. She would welcome this explanation, he was sure. She would welcome him. He thought he just might stay in Semma after all.
EPILOGUE
Sterren lay on his bed, enjoying the view of warm afternoon sunlight and contemplating his future. Marriage to Princess Shirrin seemed delightfully inevitable. Nobody seemed disposed to evict him from his comfortable tower room in Semma Castle, and nobody objected to his presence at the table at meals, so he had free food and shelter and was in no great hurry to find another home, or any genuine occupation.
Life was good.
A polite knock sounded.
He ignored it for a moment, too comfortable to want to move.
A much less polite knock sounded.
He sighed and sat up as the second knock was followed by someone pounding on his door and calling, “Lord Sterren! We must speak with you!”
“I’m coming!” he shouted in reply.
Reluctantly, he rolled off the bed and onto his feet, crossed the room, and opened the door.
“What is it?” he demanded.
Then he saw who was in the corridor beyond.
The entire Imperial Council was standing there. For a moment he stared at them silently, and they stared back. “What is it?” he asked again. “What do you want?”
Lady Kalira spoke, while the others remained grimly silent.
“Lord Sterren,” she said, “for the past two sixnights we have tried to do as you suggested, running the Empire ourselves. For the most part, I think we have succeeded. However, some problems have arisen that we find ourselves unable to deal with. We spend our time in pointless bickering over the most trivial issues, and when we try to vote, someone invariably abstains, and we find ourselves in a tie; and the arguments start all over again.”
Sterren blinked and said, “So what?”
“So,” Lady Kalira said, glaring balefully at him, “your system is not working.”
Sterren felt a sudden sinking feeling in his gut.
She paused for a moment, then continued, “Furthermore, we have some doubts about the nature of our authority. We are all accustomed to living under monarchy, where one person holds the final say. We aren’t comfortable having that power divided, particularly when it stays divided because our votes end in ties.”
“What does this have to do with me?” he asked, afraid that he knew. “Lord Sterren,” Lady Kalira said, “you brought the warlock here and in doing so you destroyed all the established hierarchies. You served as his chancellor, which gave you an authority nobody else in the Empire now possesses. We need an authority, a king or an emperor, who can settle these endless little disputes, and the only authority we can all agree on is yours.”
“But I don’t want it!” Sterren protested.
“That’s exactly why we chose you as emperor,” Lady Kalira explained. “How could we trust someone who hungered after power?”
“I won’t do it,” Sterren said.
“Lord Sterren,” Lady Kalira said, “you have little choice. You arranged for your Imperial Council to have absolute power, did you not?”
“Yes, I did,” Sterren began, “and I-”
“In that case. Your Majesty,” she interrupted, “if the Council’s power is absolute, you must yield to it, and it is the will of the Council, determined by unanimous vote, that you, Sterren of Semma, be named Emperor of Vond.”